6 Ways Mobile is Transforming Customer Experience

In the past few years, mobile customer experience has often been cited as one of many priorities brands should consider when optimizing customer engagement practices. However, the recent trend of conversational commerce has put mobile customer experience under the spotlight, as customer habits increasingly show a demand for fully optimized customer engagement on the go. A Nielsen study found that mobile web adoption is growing 8 times faster than web adoption did in the 1990s and early 2000s. And as for customer engagement? Great mobile customer experience is in high demand: According to a WOW Local Marketing study, 52% of customers are less likely to engage with a brand that provides a poor mobile experience. Here are six ways mobile is transforming customer experience due to high consumer demand.

Product research.

While some customers still prefer to make purchases in-store, mobile devices play an instrumental role in their product research. An Ipsos MediaCT study found that 51% of customers research online and then visit a store to purchase. However, the same study found that 44% of customers research and purchase online. The takeaway? Brands that make their product information easily accessible on mobile are set to engage a large population of consumers. Optimized mobile websites or personalized assistance through messaging apps (a major trend in conversational commerce) are both ways to make product research user-friendly.

Customer service on the go.

A Software Advice study found that 63% of U.S. adults use mobile devices several times per month for customer service. Indeed, as smartphone adoption grows worldwide, the same is true for customer service demand. Brands have a number of options for providing great customer support on mobile: Easy click-to-call buttons, live chat, and popular channels for conversational commerce such as SMS and messaging apps are all excellent paths to providing great customer service.

Popularity of social apps.

Social media channels have played a key role in customer experience for some time now, but conversational commerce is shifting its role on mobile devices. Customers love to stay connected to social channels on the go. As Statista confirms, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Facebook are currently the top three most downloaded social apps. The shift in customer habits lies in the fact that customers can now do much more than consult their favorite brands on their Facebook or Twitter pages: Conversational commerce enables customers to communicate directly with brands through messaging apps.

Targeted and location-based mobile marketing.

The statistics are compelling: Econsultancy states that 62% of emails are first opened on mobile, while Conversational Advertising states that 90% of all text messages are read within three minutes. Just what does this mean for mobile marketing? eMarketer found that mobile offers are redeemed ten times more often than print offers. What’s more, Responsys found that 70% of customers found all kinds of push notifications valuable, including location-based messages. Customers who receive well-timed and targeted marketing offers, based on geolocation and purchase history, are highly likely to respond.

Demand for optimized mobile sites or apps.

Mobile customer experience is all about optimization. WOW Local Marketing found that 66% of customers feel disappointed when a favorite brand offers a poor mobile experience. Brands need to make mobile sites fully optimized or offer a brand app that parallels the desktop web version in quality and accessibility.

Demand for real-time customer service.

Timeliness is an essential quality in customer service, and this is especially true on mobile. Customers expect timely responses when communicating with brands, and they also expect any mobile platforms to work efficiently. According to WOW Local Marketing, the top three customer complaints about poor mobile experiences were difficulty of navigation, unhelpful search results, and slow load time. The key takeaway? Customers value their time, so brands should offer prompt communications and provide optimized technical features that save customers time.